Eclectica–3.4.2014

By Don Johnson | March 5, 2014

For another edition of the eclectic web, we have links to serious topics, less serious topics and others that fit somewhere on the spectrum between these two extremes.

Alcohol and more

In a climate where Christians are increasingly advocating “responsible” alcohol use we repeat our urgent cry for abstinence. Too many people display their irresponsibility much too often. It is hard to imagine that anyone can justify any position that might give a hint of approval for this dangerous activity.

Science, pseudo-Science, urban legends and everybody knows…

Science has lost its way, at a big cost to humanity – Los Angeles Times:

The idea was to make sure that research on which Amgen was spending millions of development dollars still held up. They figured that a few of the studies would fail the test — that the original results couldn’t be reproduced because the findings were especially novel or described fresh therapeutic approaches.

But what they found was startling: Of the 53 landmark papers, only six could be proved valid.

Expert says Super Bowl trafficking surge a myth

But an activist who works with women and girls who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation says repeating undocumented claims that thousands of women are routinely shipped into cities hosting major sporting events for prostitution may do more harm than good.

The Camel Flap – currently claims are being made that Abraham could have had no camels, they had not yet been domesticated by his time. We provide some links to the story and refutations:

Medicine Does Not Know What ‘Dead’ Is | Christianity Today

Part of the history that medicine forgets is the reason we started thinking of brain death as death. We didn’t really start thinking of brain death as death until doctors at Harvard discovered that if we were to define it that way we’d be able to harvest organs for transplantation. Advances in organ transplantation is what first really pushed medicine to start coming up with alternate definitions of death.

Theology

Traducianism | Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Blog – Biblical Counseling

A long word for the day, from Jay Adams.

What Does “Reformed” Mean? | SharperIron

An excellent summary by Aaron Blumer.

Off the beaten path…

President Tyler’s Grandson on Being Alive — Daily Intelligencer

Two grandsons of President John Tyler — who was born in 1790 and served as tenth president of the United States — are still alive today. “Thank goodness,” says Harrison Ruffin Tyler, one of those grandsons…

Nigerian man survives 3 days at bottom of Atlantic

In this file image made available Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, Harrison Odjegba Okene looks in awe as a rescue diver surfaces into the air pocket which has kept Okene alive for nearly three days…

An illustration in search of a sermon, to be sure!

Publication of links in The Eclectic Web feature does not imply endorsement of the viewpoint or contents of any of the websites linked. The links are provided as a matter of interest to Christians.

The Eclectic Web is compiled by Don Johnson. Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.

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